Plans delayed to explode 2 unstable cranes in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — Plans have been pushed back a day to bring down two giant, unstable construction cranes in a series of controlled explosions before they can topple onto historic New Orleans buildings, the city’s fire chief said Friday, noting the risky work involved in placing explosive on the towers.

With the possibility of winds picking up due to bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico, officials had hoped to bring the cranes down Friday. But Fire Chief Tim McConnell said it would likely be midday Saturday.

“We’re in the tough part now. Making it happen, putting people back in danger,” McConnell said. “We’re working as fast as possible.”

Light, intermittent rain and winds were complicating efforts Friday as workers in buckets suspended from another crane worked to prepare the site, McConnell said.

“Winds pick up too high — and obviously they’re much higher at those elevations — it slows us down,” he said.

Collapsed last Saturday

Three people died when a Hard Rock Hotel building under construction at the edge of the French Quarter partially collapsed in a cloud of blinding dust and falling debris last Saturday morning. One body was recovered but the bodies of two construction workers remain in the unstable wreckage. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she joined loved ones in a memorial ceremony on a nearby rooftop Thursday night.

Cantrell cited the collapsed building and the coming storm in declaring a state of emergency Thursday that empowers police to “commandeer or utilize any private property,” force people out of dangerous areas and suspend the sale or transport of alcohol and firearms, among other measures. Gov. John Bel Edwards followed by declaring a state of emergency in the city Friday.

The fire chief said workers suspended from another crane that was moved into place Thursday will weaken the damaged construction towers with blow torches and attach explosives at key points. One of the crane towers is about 270 feet (82 meters) high, the other about 300 feet (91 meters). Both have massive cross arms adding more tonnage. Neither is stable.

Evacuation area may be expanded

Officials said a wide evacuation area around the site would be expanded even further ahead of the explosion. Gas to a major utility line was being shut down and steps were being taken to protect that line and underground electrical lines that could be affected by falling debris. McConnell said the line would be severely damaged were a crane to land on it.

If the operation is successful, McConnell said, the towers will drop vertically and simultaneously. “Think of it like it’s melting,” he told reporters.

Experts, including some who brought down damaged buildings at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, have worked around the clock since Saturday to devise a means of safely bringing down the cranes.

The cause of the collapse remains unknown. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration will investigate. Lawsuits are already being filed on behalf of some of the more than 20 people injured.